This morning I received an email about
HIV and Poverty
from the Terrence Higgins Trust asking me to contact my local council’s cabinet member to find out what is being done by the council to support people living with HIV who are in financial difficulties. However, since in Northern Ireland health, social care, and benefits are not issues that are dealt with by local councils (as in England), I thought it would be better to write to the Ministers for Health and Social Development, and the members of the two relevant Assembly Committees at Stormont.

My basic letter is below. If you would like to use it as a template for your own, please feel free to do so and to amend as you see fit.

Dear [insert name of MLA],

The Terrence Higgins Trust has produced a report on HIV and Poverty in the UK (www.tht.org.uk/poverty), informed…

Photography by Danielle Levitt Liz “Girl-Rilla” Carmouche has led a remarkable professional life. A former Marine helicopter electrician, she served three tours of duty in the Middle East. Then, as a fighter in the UFC, she catapulted herself into the top 10 female fighters in mixed martial arts. She also holds the honor of being the first out gay fighter in the UFC.

Facebook has announced today that it will provide 50 different gender identities. And, according to the Associated Press, the options on the list will evolve based on user input.

This move, which has been in the works for four months at Facebook, feels one part unexpected and one part reactionary – as Facebook users have been protesting for a move like this for sometime, both through the creation of groups and the signing of petitions, but also through taking advantage of a loophole in Facebook’s coding to change their pronouns form ‘his’ or ‘hers’ to ‘theirs’.

Facebook has also shown its forward thinking by ceasing to tie gender to pronouns. Users can now pick their gender,and additionally and separately choose their pronouns (though only from a list of ‘she’, ‘he’ or ‘they’).

In a world that often times sensationalizes or caricaturizes the transgender community, this move from Facebook goes a…

As I write this, my inner thighs are bruised, my underarm muscles (who knew they exist?) are sore, and I’ve skinned the top of my left foot. These reminders of yesterday’s dance session, my first in two months, are uncomfortable, but I’m glad they’re there. They’ve helped me get back inside my own body.

These are just some of the locations and causes of pole dance bruises.

When I left my house for dance yesterday, I wasn’t feeling great. I knew I’d lost a lot of strength, since I had been away and not working out (I really REALLY hate to exercise outside of dance classes) for a while. Usually, my frustration with myself for my laziness quickly turns into determination to do better. However, this time the frustration felt like defeat. I eyed the pole warily as I warmed up, doubting that my muscles would remember what to do…